Makucha
: "You okapis are rare. Once you find one, you stay on its trail. And your trail is about to come to an end." : ― Makucha is a leopard in The Lion Guard. He is first seen in The Imaginary Okapi. Appearance Makucha is a stocky, well-built leopard with incredibly agility and physical strength. His fur is a pale lemon color, and his rosettes are brown outlined with black. The spots on his face and neck are smaller and solid colored. His sclerae are dark yellow, with his iris being green. His inner ears are light pink, rimmed with black, with a single rosette on the back of each. Half of his long tail is banded in white, and his underbelly and paws are white in color. He has thick, bushy dark brown eyebrows, long black whiskers, black claws, white teeth, and a black nose. His paw pads are red-brown. Personality Makucha is a very persistent character who does not give up. A ruthless predator, he will not quit until he succeeds in killing his quarry. He does not doubt his jumping skills, as he jumped over Big Ravine without hesitating. When confronted, he is fierce and willing to fight, but also employs a cocky casualness. He is confident in his fighting ability, believing himself capable of taking on two at once. Despite his confidence, he is not arrogant or foolish. If he is severely outnumbered and overpowered, he will surrender. Makucha has a great liking for okapis as food. He frequently roars and growls to express anger or irritation. Abilities * Expert Combatant: Makucha is a capable fighter, as he was willing to take on more Kion, Fuli and Bunga at once. * Expert Hunter: Leopards are great hunters as Makucha has proven to be eager to hunt his favorite prey; the Okapi, as this type of aniaml is hard to find but Makucha was proven to be skilled enough to find one and chase it. Even better for him, the animals in Pride Lands have no idea what a leopard is as they have never seen leopards; they are not native to the Pride Lands. * Animal Strength: Makucha seems to be strong as he was willing take on Kion. He was strong enough that he was willing to take on more Kion, Fuli and Bunga at once. * Animal Speed: Makucha's speed is greater then Kion's, but not as great as Fuli's, as she was able to catch up and keep pace with him. * Animal Leaping: Like all leopards, Makucha can jump the highest of all big cats as he was able to jump across a chasm. * Animal Stamina: Makucha keeps chasing his prey no matter what; he is willing not to give up this rare meal for himself. * Animal Endurance: Makucha was able to endure Ajabu's kick and Besthi's brute strength as well as being thrown some distance, proven to get back up easily and keep chasing his prey no matter what. History The Imaginary Okapi Makucha chases Ajabu all the way into the Pride Lands, trying to catch him. Onospots him stalking gazelles, and the Lion Guard confronts him. They demand that he leaves, to which he responds that they will have to make him. He flees, and is immediately pursued by the team. However, he is able to evade them by leaping over Big Ravine. He laughs before bounding away Makucha later spots Ajabu as he speaks withThurston. He issues a low growl and murmurs, "Look who's here." He steps into a crouch and slowly approaches his intended prey. A surprised Ajabu remarks that he cannot believe Makucha followed him so far, and Makucha replies telling Ajabu that because okapis are rare, they are to be persistently tracked until they are caught. After informing Ajabu that his trail is about to come to an end, he moves forward, but his progress is impeded when Thurston runs into him in a panic and bowls him over. As he strains to rise, Thurston requests that Makucha does not eat him. As he frees himself, Makucha roars and pushes Thurston away with a hind paw and responds that he is after something far tastier, to Thurston's resentment. While chasing Ajabu, Makucha passes by the Lion Guard. As the two run farther, Ajabu demands that Makucha leave him alone while he flees. Makucha insists that he will not, having chased Ajabu for so long. He springs with a snarl, but is kicked back by Ajabu's hind hoof. He bounces once with a grunt before coming to a halt, dust clouding around him. He sits up and pants before announcing that Ajabu is just making him mad. He resumes the pursuit, exclaiming that he has Ajabu when the okapi trips and falls. However, as he charges,Beshte lifts him up with his muzzle and flings him away. Once again, he gives a grunt as he bounces once before landing on his side. Inhaling deeply, he rises with a shake of his head and asks the Lion Guard why they do not mind their own business. He comments that he is simply greeting a friend, to which Fuli replies that he was not behaving in a friendly manner. With a flick of his tail and a turn of his head, Makucha responds that leopards say hello using their teeth. He rolls his eyes and asks "So what?" Kion tells Makucha that it is time to say good-bye, and he fiercely responds that he can fight two at once. He roars as Bunga grabs his tail, swiveling his head to glare at the honey badger. Makucha turns his body until he is facing Bunga, and, lifting his tail with Bunga still gripping it, expresses the hope that Bunga will taste better than he smells. He is forced to duck when Ono dives for him, but after a moment, he approaches Kion and Fuli, quietly growling and dragging Bunga along. He bares his teeth at the two felines, but surrenders when Beshte bellows at him. He declares that the Lion Guard can have it their way, adding that even an okapi is not worth so much trouble. He turns away and breaks into a run before bounding out of sight. The Golden Zebra Makucha appears when Kion and the Lion Guard are passing through his territory in the Back Lands. He tries to drive them off, but, after a fight, he reluctantly allows the Lion Guard to pass through his territory. Later, when the Lion Guard is trying to break a dam that is blocking the waterhole for Dhahabu's herd, and he reveals that they are in his territory once again, and he has brought reinforcements. The Lion Guard manages to fend off Makucha's minions, but Makucha threatens to harm Dhahabu if they get any closer to the waterhole. Realizing what she must do, Dhahabu kicks Makucha, and he is knocked at the dam. The impact of his hit causes the dam to break, and Makucha breaks a hasty retreat. The Wisdom of Kongwe Fuli and Makini are confronted by Makucha while leading Kongwethrough the Back Lands. Fuli jumps to the tortoise's defense, and Makucha backs off, though he warns Fuli that they are in his territory. Fuli and Makini continue guiding Kongwe through the Back Lands. Suddenly, Makucha jumps out of the underbrush, and Fuli gives chase. However, Makucha skillfully evades her and climbs into a tree. Fuli attempts to follow him into the branches, but gets her claws stuck in the tree trunk. Makucha takes advantage of her prone position to attack Kongwe, but Fuli wrenches herself free just in time and fends him off. After the attack, Kongwe advises Fuli to observe Makucha in order to defeat him. At first, Fuli is adamant that she has already observed Makucha, but then she realizes that Makucha always zigzags in order to outpace Fuli. With this new wisdom, Fuli resolves to take him on once more. Fuli approaches Makucha and challenges him to another fight. This time, Fuli anticipates Makucha's zigzagging strategy and manages to catch up to him and pin him down. She orders him away from Kongwe, to which he begrudgingly backs off and leaves. Trivia * Makucha is the third leopard to appear in the Lion King franchise. The first and second being King Leopold and Princess Claudia, who appeared in the Timon & Pumbaa episode "No-Good Samaritan". * Apparently leopards are not native to the Pride Lands and the grazing animals have no defenses against them, making Makucha what is considered an invasive species. * Real leopards and lions are enemies; lions in the wild often steal from leopards or kill them to rid themselves of a rival competitor. The same can be said of leopards and cheetahs, with the former often willing to kill the latter or steal prey from it. Category:Characters Category:Main Characters Category:Leaders Category:Felines Category:Back Landers Category:Villains Category:Mammals Category:The Lion Guard Characters Category:Adults Category:Leopards Category:Lion Guard Villain